Originally written to support the PGCPS Technology Literacy Challenge Fund Grant initiative training, this information has been updated and expanded. It is hoped that anyone interested in learning more about copyright and fair use issues will find this site helpful.

Note: The "Quick Click Guide" links will jump to a specific section on this page. All other links will take you to a different page, click the "Back" button on your browser to return to this page.

Some links on this page point to documents in PDF format; Adobe Acrobat Reader, a free program, is required to open all PDF documents. If you encounter problems opening the links that end in ".pdf" you must install Adobe Acrobat Reader.
     To download Adobe Acrobat Reader go to: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html once the program is downloaded you must then install it before it will automatically open PDF documents.

Web Page Objective and Background:
Objective: Participants will identify a variety of research strategies using both the PGCPS web page search tool and Internet search engines. Participants will also examine resources to teach students to evaluate and validate online resources.

Background: Use these web sites to begin researching the art of finding information on the Internet. Each search tool works slightly differently! If the same search query is used on different search tools different results are often found. A successful searcher frequently reviews a search tool's "help" section before the search is begun. Remember, half of knowledge is knowing where to find it!

Directions: It is recommended that participants collaborate in using this self-paced tutorial and discuss copyright and fair use findings.

Note: Many of the following links are to web sites that are not part of the Instructional Technology or the Prince George's County Public Schools web page. While these web sites have been reviewed and carefully selected for this self-paced tutorial, web site content and quality can change quickly. If you choose to have students use any of these sites, please review the web site personally and perform the appropriate searches to determine if it is appropriate for your students to use!

Disclaimer: This site is designed to facilitate exchanges between educators and help these educators to make informed, ethical decisions information usage. Because web pages change frequently, nothing herein should be construed as automatically "approved" for student use. It is critical that each search and site is reviewed shortly before it is assigned to a student.

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  How to use the PGCPS Search Tool:
Find the curriculum you need to use quickly and easily!

Prince George's County has a new search tool! This keyword search is designed to quickly and easily locate documents and pages that match the terms you enter into the query box.

Hints on how to use the PGCPS Search Tool:

	Click the "search PGCPS" button on the PGCPS home page to go to the "Start new search" page; no search term is necessary.
Basic strategy: 1. Select search location. 2. Type in keywords. 3. Click search!
Note #1 Help!	The first time you use the PGCPS search tool click the "Help" link to learn about this powerful tool. Read the "Tip" window; it contains a helpful new tip every visit!
Note #2 Curriculum ...	Most of the Board Approved curriculum documents are located on our intranet. C & I is in the process of moving all of the curriculum documents will to the intranet.
How to "read" an Internet Address	http://public web page/~Curriculum & Instruction's space/sub-folder named "documents"/name of PDF document in sub-folder!
After you do a search note the link to the document. This will tell you a lot about the document. - note the word behind "/~" to determine the location of the document. If the link says http://www.pgcps.org/~crossld, this means that this document resides in the space maintained by Crossland High School
Note #3 PDF searching ...	It is possible to locate a specific word in a PDF document! How: Use the "Find" and "Find Again" icons, located in the Adobe Acrobat icon tool bar at the top of the page. An "Acrobat Find" window will open; type the word in the query box. NOTE: The "Find" icon will only find the word the first time it is located on the page; use the "Find Again" icon to continue the search. Keyboard shortcut: On a PC, hold down the "Ctrl" key and press the "F" key, a find window will open. Note this will only start up the "Find on this page" query; not the "Find Again" query.
Go to the PGCPS search tool

• Who maintains the search tool and what is it's purpose?
  University, other educational institution, or a not-for profit entity?
  Search tool is operated as a business?
  Commercial sponsor, such as a shopping directory?
  Click once here to go back to the Quick Click Questions!

• How do sites get selected by the search tool?
  Is the search tool limited to selected data?
  Can a request be submitted by the author of the Web Page wishing to be listed?
  Is the web page or document found by the sponsor of the tool?
  Is a fee charged for being listed on the search tool?
Click once here to go back to the Quick Click Questions!

• What kind of search is performed?
  What part of the Internet is searched; only the World Wide Web (WWW)?
  
  Is the search limited to cached (stored in memory) pages or is the search real-time?
  Is the search limited to a collected database of sites?
  Is the search done on the full text or titles?
  Is the search done only on the meta tags?
  
  
Click once here to go back to the Quick Click Questions!

• Search terms may be:
  Real text?
  Keywords? Subjects??
  Single words? Phrases?
  Names?
  Dates?
  A mix of the above?
Click once here to go back to the Quick Click Questions!

• The search can be refined by:
  Using special Characters such as "+" and "-"?
  Using Boolean Logic ("AND", "OR" and "NOT")?
  Using Dates?
  Can search be limited to a type of information or pictures only?
  Can searches be done by language?
Click once here to go back to the Quick Click Questions!
• By geographical location?
  By date?
  By subject?
  Can the search results be limited to a certain number?
  Can the search results only the results of your previous search?
Click once here to go back to the Quick Click Questions!

• Other Considerations:
  Is the Help section easy to find (& useful)?
  Does the web site cause automatic pop-up windows to open?
  Does the web site contain advertisements?
  Does the web site require cookies to be set?
  Remember web site content can change frequently!!!

Sailor - Maryland's Home Page Search Directory:
http://www.sailor.lib.md.us/sailor/search_engines.html

Beaucoup! A very interesting "one person" operated search tool:
http://www.beaucoup.com/

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators; a recognized authority in the education "find it" field:
http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/

Web Searcher Links From the Chico High School Library;
an exemplar search site from the "owner" of LMNET:
http://dewey.chs.chico.k12.ca.us/search.html


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A Selected List of Search Tools for Students:

Note: The sites listed below do NOT have blanket approval status; however, they are maintained by reputable sources and at the time this page was posted were appropriate for student use. Because web content changes so quickly it is critical that searches are done on any search tool shortly before the assignment is given to the students. There are many more search tools than those listed here that claim to be designed for students. It is the responsibility of the teacher to review each search tool to determine if it is appropriate for student use. For more information about evaluating online resources for student use see the Instructional Technology Support page for Software Evaluation: http://www.pgcps.org/~support/software.html#steps

Search tools and other online resources for students, maintained by PGCPS county Schools:
http://www.pgcps.org/students.html

Search tools maintained by other agencies and commercial enterprises:

CyberSleuth Kids, a commercial site for the K-12 student
http://cybersleuth-kids.com/

KidsClick, web search for kids by librarians
http://www.kidsclick.org/

Prince George's County Memorial Library System - Kid's Center
http://www.prge.lib.md.us/KidsCenter/KidsHome.html

Prince George's County Memorial Library System - Teen Center
http://www.prge.lib.md.us/TeenCenter/TeenHome.html

Ramapo Catskill Library System: Kid's Search Tools
http://www.rcls.org/ksearch.htm


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